Poland experienced considerable political ferment in 2000. The two-party “Solidarity coalition” that had governed since 1997 collapsed in June, leaving a fragile and increasingly ineffectual minority government, headed by the Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS), to spend the rest of 2000 clinging to power. The AWS chairman, Marian Krzaklewski, suffered a stinging defeat in presidential elections in October, finishing third to the popular incumbent, Aleksander Kwasniewski. Although he faced 11 challengers, Kwasniewski triumphed easily in the first round of the balloting, with 53.9% of the vote. Krzaklewski finished third, with 15.6% of the vote, behind Andrzej Olechowski, a charismatic former foreign and finance minister, who won 17.3% despite running without party backing.

The infighting that caused the collapse of the ruling coalition bolstered the popularity of the main opposition party, the ex-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD). Buoyed by Kwasniewski’s victory, the SLD was garnering about 50% support in public opinion polls in the later months of 2000. As their popularity declined, both the AWS and its erstwhile partner, the centrist Freedom Union (UW), suffered leadership crises. Krzaklewski’s refusal to step down after his election defeat prompted a rebellion among the constituent parties that made up the AWS, and although Krzaklewski ultimately agreed to surrender the chairmanship at a future date, the party remained in disarray at year’s end.

The UW experienced its share of turmoil, too. Having walked out of the government to protest economic reform reversals, the party lost its visibility, and its approval rating tumbled. The UW opted not to run a candidate in the presidential elections, and most of its supporters backed Olechowski. Both decisions were the work of Leszek Balcerowicz, the hard-nosed UW chairman and architect of Poland’s free-market economic reforms. As disappointment with his leadership spread, Balcerowicz seized an opportunity to make a graceful exit from politics. Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, the central bank president who had guided monetary policy since 1992, announced unexpectedly in October that she was stepping down to take a prestigious post at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. With a nod to the broad consensus that had long protected economic policy from political infighting, the president nominated Balcerowicz to take the helm at the central bank, and he was confirmed on December 22.

The AWS supported Balcerowicz’s candidacy, but at a price. In return, the UW reportedly agreed to support the minority government’s draft budget in March 2001, when it was expected to come to a vote. By depriving the president of a pretext to call early elections, passage of the 2001 budget would allow the AWS cabinet to serve out its full term, to September 2001. This bargain would also give the UW time to regroup under its new leader, former foreign minister Bronislaw Geremek, before fresh elections, but it was eagerly seized upon by the SLD as evidence of power-hungry maneuvering.

Although many economic decisions were hostage to similar political considerations, the Polish economy remained on a steady reform course in 2000. Growth was strong in the first half, but steep interest-rate rises, imposed to fight a current-account deficit that peaked at 8.3% of gross domestic product in March before falling back to around 7% at year’s end, cut consumption and investment spending sharply. Although the growth rate was slowing as the year drew to a close, Polish GDP was expected to have risen by at least 4.5% overall in 2000. Privatization and restructuring were pushed ahead in many sectors, and investors were invited to buy their way into the power industry. The government concluded the largest privatization deal in Eastern Europe so far with the $4.3 billion sale of a 35% stake in TPSA, the former telecoms monopoly, to a consortium headed by France Télécom.

European Union membership remained the anchor of Polish foreign policy in 2000. A special parliamentary committee was formed to speed through EU-standard legislation. In its annual progress report, the European Commission hailed a “marked acceleration” in Poland’s adoption of EU law and regulations. An EU summit in Nice, France, in December chose to grant Poland 27 votes—on a par with Spain—in the Council of Ministers when it joined the EU.

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